How to Create a Culture of Innovation in a Startup

5 quick tips that any Startup can adopt to improve creativity

Innovation is vital for any business. So it’s important to focus your energies on creating a culture for innovation.

“Innovative cultures start with a philosophy and a tone.” (Ishak, 2017)

Most companies don’t invest enough time, energy or resources to create a culture of innovation. So for Startups, this is an opportunity.

Here are 5 tips to motivate innovation.

Tip #1 — Workspace

People need to be able to work at their best to generate innovative ideas. Traditional offices can be stifling. So invite feedback and involve your employees as to how their workspace can be improved to facilitate a more engaging and creative environment.

For instance, cubicles tend to be constrained, too structured, prison-like even. They also create physical barriers between those who like to bounce ideas off of each other.

The solution is evident in some offices today with group meeting spaces scattered throughout buildings. These spaces facilitate people who need to collaborate. So talk to your employees to assess their preferences and deliver them as best you can.

Tip #2 — Passion

Encourage employees to pursue their passion, at all levels, from new hires to leadership team members.

This can be a driving force in creating “passion, determination, a certain doggedness, and the ability to innovate.” (Agarwal, 2018).

Also, ensure that everyone’s voice is heard to cultivate the right type of passion within your company.

Tip #3 — Thinking

All people can be creative. Creative thinking is a skill that can be learned and developed over time. So encourage your employees to upskill and accept failure as part of this journey.

For example, host training onsite and offsite — sessions and workshops on creative thinking. One Startup team I worked with operated a book sharing initiative whereby each member would bring in one book each month for others to read.

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep .”— Scott Adams

Knowledge sharing, like articles and books, about different creative thinking strategies can embed creative thinking in your Startup.

Tip #4 — Purpose

People aspire to have a purpose, to be part of something meaningful in their life. Work is an important part of life, so for people to be satisfied and perform well they need to feel that their work is meaningful, has a purpose.

For example, Harley Davidson gave employees more ownership of their jobs. This encouraged workers to achieve a higher level of performance and they were awarded accordingly, making their work meaningful.

Those who feel their job is meaningful can be a motivator for innovation. This should be central to your business model and strategy going forward.

Tip #5 — Deadlines

While deadlines are important, they can evoke stress. Stress is the anti-Christ of Creativity.

Do not micromanage your employees. Recognize that creativity and innovation take time. Rather, inspire a workplace that minimizes employee interruption and rigid timelines. Regular interruptions also smother creativity, like deadlines and pressure to find quick solutions.

Sometimes there is no quick-fix.

If innovation is your goal, forget the outdated ‘time is money’ cliché. Understand that time is actually creativity in motion. Allow for blocks of creative time and accept discoveries, regardless of time constraints.

Key Takeaways

To conclude here’s a quick summary of the points above.

• №1 — Workspace: Involve everyone and don’t forget about remote workers.

• №2 — Passion: Encourage workers to pursue a passion.
• №3 — Thinking: Facilitate learning and embrace failure.
• №4 — Purpose: Make work meaningful.
• №5— Deadlines: Design out rigid timelines and interruptions at work.

References

• Agarwal, P. (2018). Here’s How To Apply Creative Thinking As An Entrepreneur. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com [Accessed 2 Feb. 2020].
• Debonogroup.com. (2020). The de Bono Group — Six Thinking Hats. [online] Available at: http://www.debonogroup.com [Accessed 2 Feb. 2020].
• Ishak, W. (2017). Creating an innovation culture. [online] McKinsey & Company. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com [Accessed 2 Feb. 2020].